D4418.PDF

SECOND FAO/OIE REGIONAL MEETING ON AVIAN INFLUENZA CONTROL IN ASIA
Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) 23-25 February 2005 1
SECOND FAO/OIE REGIONAL MEETING ON
AVIAN INFLUENZA CONTROL IN ASIA
Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) 23-25 February 2005
RECOMMENDATION No. 1
The Ho Chi Minh City Declaration on Investments
Considering:
1. The continuing circulation of avian influenza viruses in poultry in several Asian countries associated with
disease outbreaks in poultry and human infection and fatalities;
2. The concern about the potential for a pandemic of human influenza;
3. That highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses seem to be endemic in several countries in Asia
and that eradication does not appear to be feasible in the short term;
4. The availability of effective and practical procedures for detection and surveillance of AI viruses in
domestic poultry and wild birds;
5. The availability of effective and practical measures (e.g. stamping-out, biosecurity, movement controls,
vaccination) to control these viruses;
6. That Regional animal health diagnostic and epidemiology networks are incipient and lack sufficient
depth, resources and continuity to ensure timely and transparent detection, diagnosis and reporting;
7. That animal health infrastructures in many countries of the region are under-resourced and lack the
capacity for an effective response to the HPAI epidemic in poultry;
8. The necessity that countries in the region that are currently free of HPAI receive the investment needed
to ensure that they remain free;
9. That improvements in the capacity of countries to detect, confirm and manage HPAI in poultry will also
improve their capacity with respect to other emerging zoonoses;
10. That resources for animal health are far from sufficient to mitigate the serious damage caused by AI
viruses to animal health and production and human health; and
11. The needs for a global short, medium and long-term plan for the control and ultimate eradication of AI;

SECOND FAO/OIE REGIONAL MEETING ON AVIAN INFLUENZA CONTROL IN ASIA
Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) 23-25 February 2005 2
The meeting recommends that:
1. Governments give increased priority and profile to build the capacity of animal and human health
services and other necessary services to ensure they can exercise their responsibilities with respect to
AI and other zoonoses;
2. A master coordination plan be prepared with a global vision defining the road map and time frames for
the short, medium and long-term priority activities, to be endorsed and supported by individual countries
and regional organisations;
3. Long-term, sustainable funding be sought to support key priorities identified in the outcome of this
meeting; and
4. The investment required to support key priorities, identified during this meeting, for AI control in animals
in countries currently infected and in countries that are currently free from the disease be in the order of:
• international: $1 m p.y. (ongoing
• regional: $3 m p.y. (ongoing)
• national: $100 m (total) over a 3-5 year period.
[noting that these estimates do not include the potentially significant costs associated with either
compensation or major industry restructuring].
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SECOND FAO/OIE REGIONAL MEETING ON AVIAN INFLUENZA CONTROL IN ASIA
Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) 23-25 February 2005 3
RECOMMENDATION No. 2
International standards and surveillance for international trade
Considering:
1. The importance and regional and international dimension of the AI crisis affecting animals and the
potential public health implications;
2. The negative trade impacts that AI has had on international trade;
3. That the OIE has proposed new standards and guidelines on AI with respect to international trade,
which will be proposed for adoption in May 2005 during the OIE General Session;
4. That the concept of compartmentalisation has already been agreed by the OIE International Committee,
The meeting recommends that:
1. The OIE promulgate a policy paper explaining the specific requirements of implementation of
compartmentalisation with respect to AI;
2. The OIE develop agreed methods of AI virus inactivation in processed products with respect to animal
health, international trade and food safety issues; and
3. International (such as FAO/OIE) and Regional bodies (such as ASEAN and SAARC) continue to
provide assistance to further strengthen countries’ compliance with international standards.
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SECOND FAO/OIE REGIONAL MEETING ON AVIAN INFLUENZA CONTROL IN ASIA
Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) 23-25 February 2005 4
RECOMMENDATION No. 3
National/Regional/International co-ordination and co-operation
Considering:
1. That AI is a transboundary disease which easily spreads between countries and has important regional
and international dimensions;
2. That national control strategies should be harmonised and co-ordinated;
3. The mandates and missions of international and regional organizations;
4. The necessity to continue and sustain the regional networks that have been established as an
emergency response to the AI crisis by the FAO and other bodies;
The meeting recommends that:
1. The development of AI control and eradication regional plans in Asia be coordinated and monitored
through ASEAN/ASEAN +3 and SAARC;
2. AI control and eradication national plans be developed (based on the regional coordinated plan) in a
transparent manner and be well documented with a road map including time-frames;
3. Member countries build on the Southeast Asia Foot and Mouth Disease (SEAFMD) model to help
strengthen regional co-operation and enhance national efforts to control and eradicate HPAI;
4. The international and regional organisations continue and further strengthen their activities in support of
member countries;
5. The existing FAO regional networks for surveillance and diagnosis be sustained with additional support;
6. The FAO/OIE Global Framework for Transboundary Animal Diseases (GF-TADs) initiatives be used as
a foundation for the regional approach to the control and eradicate AI.
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SECOND FAO/OIE REGIONAL MEETING ON AVIAN INFLUENZA CONTROL IN ASIA
Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) 23-25 February 2005 5
RECOMMENDATION No. 4
Strategies for surveillance and control of avian influenza
Considering:
1. The importance and the regional and international dimensions of the AI crisis affecting animals and the
potential public health implications;
2. The necessity to stop the cycle of infection within identified reservoirs and prevent spill over into other
susceptible animal species and man;
3. The need to prevent the spread of AI virus to unaffected countries;
The meeting recommends that:
1. Countries plan control strategy based on scientifically designed risk analysis and surveillance surveys
that identify reservoir species, agro-ecological areas and farming systems likely to maintain the
infection;
2. The main risk infection pathways be mapped and appropriate and targeted surveillance strategies
defined;
3. Disease be controlled at source through implementation of risk reduction interventions, including
stamping-out, vaccination, improved biosecurity and education awareness. In AI free countries,
vaccination would not normally be considered for the purpose of prevention;
4. Vaccination in poultry if applied in an appropriate manner can be used as an additional tool to protect
human health and help towards the elimination of infection. However, vaccines should comply with OIE
standards and vaccination strategies should be consistent with guidelines developed by FAO and
supported by OIE;
5. That surveillance programmes be elaborated before vaccination is introduced. Likewise, an exit strategy
has to be identified;
6. That Regional and International bodies provide assistance to countries in the region in capacity building;
7. That, wherever appropriate, diagnostic tests capable of differentiating infected from vaccinated (DIVA)
birds be applied;
8. The efficacy of risk reduction and prevention procedures be monitored through targeted surveillance
activities, including:
• post vaccination surveillance to measure efficacy of vaccination, early identification of virus
circulation, monitoring of genetic drift and emergence of new strains
• monitoring reservoirs, including live bird markets
• monitoring disease status of compartments or zones.
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